Public transport remains shut; J&K presses SRTC buses

As public transport continues to remain off-roads in Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir government has pressed State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) buses into service to ferry passengers in Srinagar city.

The public transport is off the roads across Kashmir since August 5, when the Parliament abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcated the State into two Union Territories.

An official of SRTC said that following the government directive, the Corporation has pressed over 17 buses into service on different routes in Srinagar city. The buses include electric-buses (E-buses) which the Corporation acquired in June this year.

Habib-ullah Reshi, a deputy general manager (DGM) of the SRTC said apart from Srinagar, the Corporation buses are also plying on different district routes from the last 10-days. “Earlier, we had pressed a few buses, to begin with. On seeing the response and improvement in a situation more buses were added,” he said.

Approximately 50 thousand commercial vehicles, which include cabs and minibuses, are grounded in Kashmir for the last 80-days due to spontaneous shutdown. However, the flow of private vehicles on roads is increasing with each passing day as most of the government employees have reported back to their duties.
The absence of public transport on roads has created huge problems for the people, especially women, who don’t have their own vehicles. “I have to take a lift from strangers’ every day to reach to my office which is 15-km away from my home. Sometimes I have to face an embarrassing situation, but there is no way out,” said Iqra, who works in the school education department.

She said till September ending, the female staffers were given relaxation in attending the duties. “However, from the last one month, we have been told categorically to attend the duties regularly or else to face the consequences,” Iqra added.

A senior government official said that decision to press in SRTC buses was taken to provide some relief to the employees, who are finding it hard to attend duties. “Plus, it has also provided a huge relief to patients, who have to reach to the hospitals. If the private public transport is not back on roads in coming days, more SRTC buses will be pressed into the service,” he added.